‘Coffee With Ivanka’ Fundraising Auction Abruptly Canceled

An auction offering the highest bidder “30-45 minutes” of time to meet with Ivanka Trump was cancelled Friday after it came under scrutiny.

According to a report by the New York Times, the fundraiser was cancelled after questions were raised by ethics experts about the special access to the incoming first family it appeared to offer bidders.

Earlier Friday, the Times reported that many of those who had placed bids on the auction wanted access to Ivanka Trump in order to communicate with her father’s incoming administration. The charity fundraising page was taken down without explanation later the same day.

The fundraiser said the money raised would go to the Eric Trump Foundation to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. According to the Times’ report, bidding reached $77,888 before the page was removed.

The Trump Organization said in a statement obtained by the Times that the Trump family waited to take action on the fundraiser until “our team was aligned on steps moving forward.”

“Today, the only people that lost are the children of St. Jude,” a statement from Eric Trump read, as quoted by the Times.

Trump family spokeswoman Amanda Miller did not respond to a question from the Times on why Eric Trump did not simply donate the money himself.